Readers of Stripy Tapir may be aware that this is my second attempt at a month of veganism. Back in February 2017 I committed to what I rather unimaginatively termed ‘Veguary’ – you can see the post here– and while I did manage to go vegan for that whole month of February, you may have noticed that the promised retrospective on such endeavours never quite materialised. Veguary was great, and it did change the way I eat permanently. But I didn’t keep up a fully vegan diet, and, three years on, it felt important to try to make more of an effort to keep pushing my diet into more environmentally friendly waters.
So here I am, shovelling vegan gluten-free pancakes into my vegan gluten-free mouth, after a second successful vegan month. Frankly, the whole experience has been unreservedly delicious, and funnily enough it felt a lot easier than the first time I attempted it. I thought it would be useful to write down what I have learned, in the hope that, if you’re thinking of doing veganuary (or being vegan for any month of the year, really), these tips might help you make the transition a little bit more smoothly. It feels a bit rich for someone who’s only been vegan for a couple of months to write posts about such things- so I do want to say that I’d highly recommend you seek out vegan bloggers and speak to vegans you know to try and glean their wisdom on such matters. Speaking as someone who has just recently swapped diets, though, my top tips would as follows:
(1) TOUR THE PLANT MILKS
Going vegan will almost certainly involve entering the diverse world of plant milks- oat, almond, rice, soya, coconut and even cashew are all now readily available. My advice here would be not to feel overwhelmed but to take the opportunity to go on a culinary tour of them before you settle on your favourites, and remember that different ones might be good for different things. And don’t be put off if one of them isn’t your cup of tea (or more pertinently, if one of them splits in your tea and turns it into a goopy mess). I really wasn’t a fan of coconut milk and would happily consign all ‘sweetened’ varieties to the dustbin- but I really enjoyed almond milk in my tea and thought soy milk made the best hot chocolates. You may think differently, but there’s only one way to find out.
(2) STOCK UP ON SOURCES OF ‘CREAMINESS’
When I first did Veguary, I found myself really missing the decadent richness of cream and cheese. Things like peanut butter, avocados and hummus made good substitutes to satisfy the cravings, so I made sure to stock up at the beginning of the month. A special shout out here goes to Heinz vegan mayonnaise, which to me tastes indistinguishable from the real thing and when mixed with garlic is 💯.
(3) PINTEREST IS YOUR FRIEND
This is a new way of eating, so it’s useful to have a board full of inspiration. There’s a huge treasure trove of vegan recipes available online for free- personally I’d highly recommend This Savoury Vegan, Veggie Desserts, and Naturally Ella for their great collections and dreamy photography. YouTube wise, The Happy Pear are great for recipe inspo, especially for desserts (vegan bounty bars anyone?).
(4) PRACTICE
Some people might enjoy the challenge of going cold tofu and plunging into Veganuary straight from their normal diets- but I found it easier to take the time to nail a couple of great vegan recipes that I could fall back on if inspiration wasn’t striking. This recipe made a soup that warmed me to the very tips of my toes, and this marinade, used on crispy tofu instead of beef, started an ardent love affair with Sriracha which shows no sign of abating.
(5) STOCK UP ON LAZY DINNERS
For all the Pinterest inspo and fancy recipes, there will be some days when you just can’t be bothered to cook. On these occasions it pays to have a range of lazy options; the sort of thing you can stick in the oven and forget about for 40 minutes. I think that your range of options expands dramatically if you’re not gluten-free like me, but personally my go-tos were Clive’s pies (I dream about their Moroccan chickpea) and ready-made falafels in a pitta with hummus and rocket.
(6) TRY NOT TO RELY TOO MUCH ON STRAIGHT SWAPS
I’m firm believer that you won’t enjoy Veganuary to its fullest if you’re only eating things that are straight swaps, by which I mean things that rely heavily on vegan cheese or fake meats. These things can be great, but it’s all too easy to get drawn into a comparison game and constantly be thinking of how much you miss the ‘real deal’. Learning to cook meals that would be vegan anyway, or whose swaps are a little bit more hidden, is a good way to break the comparison cycle and to snap out of the idea of vegan versions as being always slightly less tasty.
(7) SCOPE OUT GOOD RESTAURANTS TO EAT OUT
Take it from someone who’s had to deal with being ‘the awkward one’ for restaurants since they were diagnosed with coeliac disease at 18. It’s always good to have a couple of suggestions up your sleeve if you end up eating out impromptu. This has become an awful lot easier over the last few years, with restaurants piling on top of each other to offer vegan options. I found that Leon and Pho were good chains for the gluten-free vegan. If happen to be in Manchester, 8th Day was my great saviour for lunchtimes when I lived there and wasn’t organised enough to bring in my own- they always have a great dahl and one or two other vegan options. Or you can do what I did several times and justify only having a soup with being able to order one of their incredible desserts- if they have the vegan chocolate-chip mint cheesecake, snap that bad boy up as fast as you can.
(8) FIND A BUDDY
Getting a friend on board means you’ll have someone who very much understands to vent frustrations to. I would highly, highly recommend it – especially if that friend is an incredible cook who will invite you round to the most awesome vegan roast of your life (thanks Emma). If you’re doing this solo, though, a good tip is to sign up for Veganuary emails, which will go some way to giving you that little sense of camaraderie that can help you keep going.
